A place where beginners can participate, ask questions, and post their views. However, beginners typically ask a lot of questions about sources, tricks, books, and so on. In fact, all magicians are interested (or should be) in the provenance of tricks, ideas, and related matters. This department will service these needs.

I've heard that the pioneering French filmmaker George Melies was also an accomplished magician and created a number of impressive illusions, including one where a person is decapitated and their head continues to speak as their body moves around the room. But I've been unable to find any books or sites outlining how these effects were accomplished. Does anyone know if there's reference material outlining how they were carried out (in English, preferably)

Whilst i can't say for certain it is clear from the techniques he created for Film FX that he had a very strong working knowledge of black art.

His mentors were all also experienced at BA though also all had very strong engineering/mechanical backgrounds - Maskelyne, deKolta, Robert-Houdin and he retained many of Houdin's technical staff so if i was taking an educated guess i would think the live stage illusions he created would have been a mixture of black art & hugely complicated off-stage machines literally built in to the theatre.

Great topic for some research - the guy owned the Robert-Houdin theater and was also the president of the local magicians social group so there is likely local literature to be found from the time. My French is not so good as to go reading there. Anyone from France care to have a look for show reviews in that theater from about 1888?

I agree.I couldn't order a sandwich with my high school French now.The book "Marvellous Melies" (in English) by Paul Hammond would be a great starting point. It references Melies use of black art, the Pepper's Ghost technique and magic lanterns among others. The four appendices in the back may help.

I remember a recent crowd funding effort by Melies family for his grave. You might reach out to them as well.

I agree.I couldn't order a sandwich with my high school French now.The book "Marvellous Melies" (in English) by Paul Hammond would be a great starting point. It references Melies use of black art, the Pepper's Ghost technique and magic lanterns among others. The four appendices in the back may help.

I remember a recent crowd funding effort by Melies family for his grave. You might reach out to them as well.

jimb_85 wrote:I've heard that the pioneering French filmmaker George Melies was also an accomplished magician and created a number of impressive illusions, including one where a person is decapitated and their head continues to speak as their body moves around the room. But I've been unable to find any books or sites outlining how these effects were accomplished. Does anyone know if there's reference material outlining how they were carried out (in English, preferably)

The effect you describe with the head is most certainly from one of his films. I can remember it, and many other things like it, quite clearly.

jimb_85 wrote:I've heard that the pioneering French filmmaker George Melies was also an accomplished magician and created a number of impressive illusions, including one where a person is decapitated and their head continues to speak as their body moves around the room. But I've been unable to find any books or sites outlining how these effects were accomplished. Does anyone know if there's reference material outlining how they were carried out (in English, preferably)

The effect you describe with the head is most certainly from one of his films. I can remember it, and many other things like it, quite clearly.

No, that one is American Spiritualistic Mediums, or the Recalcitrant Decapitated Man - on the stage.

The one you saw Richard was probably The Man With the Rubber Head - a short film.